Principles of Libertarian Economy Zabalaza Books “Knowledge is the Key to be Free” by Abraham Guillen Post: Postnet Suite 116, Private Bag X42, Braamfontein, 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa E-Mail: [email protected] Translated by Jeff Stein Website: www.zabalaza.net/zababooks Page 32 - Principles of Libertarian Economy Principles of Libertarian The text of this pamphlet first appeared in 3 parts in the Anarcho-Syndicalist Review (Issues No. 14, 15 and 16.) Economy Thanks to JB from the ASR for consent to republish the text in this format. Anarcho-Syndicalist Review an anarcho-syndicalist journal byby AbrahamAbraham GuillenGuillen The ASR can be contacted at: Post: Box 2824, Champaign IL 61825, USA Translated by Jeff Stein Email: [email protected] Front Cover Picture CNT-FAI poster from the Spanish revolution of 1936-39 urging collectivisation of the transport industry Abraham Guillen - Page 31 __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ M Introduction __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ As part of our continuing efforts to present anarchist economic theory, we offer __________________________________________________________________ this translation from Abraham Guillen’s book, Economia Libertaria. The author of __________________________________________________________________ over fifty books and essays, Guillen is probably best known to English readers for his __________________________________________________________________ book, Philosophy of the Urban Guerrilla (New York, 1973). A veteran of the Spanish __________________________________________________________________ Revolution, member of the CNT and FAI, Guillen spent most of his life in exile in __________________________________________________________________ South America. He has worked as a journalist and economist in Argentina, Uruguay __________________________________________________________________ and Peru. Presently he lives in Madrid, where he teaches at the International __________________________________________________________________ Institute for Self-Management and Communal Action, which is part of the __________________________________________________________________ Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. __________________________________________________________________ For U.S. readers some of Guillen’s terms may be confusing. His use of the term __________________________________________________________________ “libertarian” should not be confused with the right-wing laissez faire ideas of the so- __________________________________________________________________ called “Libertarian Party.” Although he does refer to “markets” as part of a revolu- __________________________________________________________________ tionary society, it is clear from the context that he is speaking of a system of feder- __________________________________________________________________ alist or collectivist exchange of products at their labour value. __________________________________________________________________ We do not necessarily agree with everything Guillen has to say, particularly his __________________________________________________________________ assessment of anti-Soviet Marxism. We think it is possible to make an economic cri- __________________________________________________________________ tique of Marxism, without giving in to the temptation of ascribing its failures to origi- __________________________________________________________________ nal sin or the fall from grace. Despite these disagreements, we think this an inter- __________________________________________________________________ esting contribution to anarcho-syndicalist economics. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ M Self-Management, Planning, __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Federalism __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ The principles of libertarian economy were put into practice - more by intuition __________________________________________________________________ than by design, without grand theories - by the libertarian collectives in Spain during __________________________________________________________________ the revolution of 1936-39. Here the “praxis,” more than any “a priori” theory, demon- __________________________________________________________________ Page 30 - Principles of Libertarian Economy Abraham Guillen - Page 3 __________________________________________________________________ strated that an economy inspired by federalist principles and self-managed, with a __________________________________________________________________ self-managed market, could work well and avoid the central-planning which always __________________________________________________________________ leads to the totalitarian, bureaucratic State, owner of each and everything. __________________________________________________________________ In this article, we are not going to introduce all the self-regulating objective eco- __________________________________________________________________ nomic laws, although the most important of these, the law of labour value, self-reg- __________________________________________________________________ ulates the exchange of goods and services at their just value in order to fulfil the oth- __________________________________________________________________ ers: the law of economic equity; the law of co-operation, between the distinct inte- __________________________________________________________________ grated federations of the libertarian economy; the law of exchange equivalence. In __________________________________________________________________ a market liberated from the capitalists and the opprobrious tutelage of the State, they __________________________________________________________________ will self-regulate, almost cybernetically, the economic processes of production, __________________________________________________________________ exchange, distribution and consumption. __________________________________________________________________ We study these laws and social-economic categories more profoundly in my __________________________________________________________________ Economia Autogestionara [Self-managed Economics], particularly, and to some __________________________________________________________________ extent in my three other books. We are not going to deal, in this chapter of __________________________________________________________________ Libertarian Economics (which is really an introduction to self-managed economics), __________________________________________________________________ with the development of libertarian socialism. Libertarian socialism, I define as syn- __________________________________________________________________ onymous with self-managed socialism. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ M Anarchism and Marxism __________________________________________________________________ Anarchism and Marxism __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ From a semantic point of view, libertarian socialism is disposed to unite accord- __________________________________________________________________ ing to the concept of true socialism (without bureaucracy and with liberty) all well- __________________________________________________________________ intentioned socialists. However, the adjective libertarian has an anarchist connota- __________________________________________________________________ tion. On the other hand the adjective self-managed tends to suggest an even broad- __________________________________________________________________ er front of socialist ideologies, some more bureaucratic than revolutionary, which __________________________________________________________________ might be unified, in thought and deed, into a self-managed socialism: the broadest __________________________________________________________________